County's drivers most distracted; blame phones

State cellphone use by drivers

Of 5,413 drivers observed:

4.7 percent were using a headset or hands-free device

2.7 percent were holding the cellphone while talking

1.7 percent were texting or otherwise using mobile device

San Diego  Traffic safety officials promoting a statewide campaign against drivers using cellphones brought their message Wednesday to San Diego, where the rate of distracted driving tops the state and national average.

California commissioned the nation’s first statewide survey of distracted driving in March and results showed that 9.9 percent of San Diego County drivers were using cellphones, above the state and national average of 9 percent.

“It’s not a statistic to be proud of,” San Diego police Assistant Chief Robert Kanaski said at a downtown news conference. “It’s obvious there is a problem.”

April was designated “Distracted Driving Awareness Month” in California and the state Office of Traffic Safety has been working with law enforcement to persuade drivers to put down, or turn off, their phones while behind the wheel. Officers are taking a zero-tolerance approach by issuing more tickets, and fewer warnings, to drivers who violate the state’s hands-free cellphone laws.

AKanaski said San Diego police have issued 1,056 tickets for illegal cellphone use in the first 18 days of April, and will continue the crackdown.

The California Highway Patrol has been writing about 10,000 tickets a month statewide for distracted driving, said CHP Deputy Commissioner Max Santiago at the news conference.

“It’s not about the tickets, though, it’s about telling people it’s dangerous,” Santiago said.

Distracted driving was listed as the cause of about 26,000 crashes with 116 deaths in California in 2009, Santiago said.

A 2008 state law requires adult drivers to use an earpiece, headset or hands-free speaker with their cellphone. Drivers under age 18 may not use any wireless devices.

A further breakout of the statewide survey numbers showed that drivers in Central California had the highest rate of cellphone usage, 12 percent, compared to 9.8 percent in Southern California and 6.9 percent in Northern California.

Christopher Murphy, director of the traffic safety agency, said at the media conference that the survey was conducted by observers who spent 45 minutes at each of 130 intersections across 19 California counties noting whether the drivers were using cellphones.

Officials said they are still analyzing the data to understand the geographic differences.